GENEVA – New figures released by ITU Saturday showed that information and communication technology (ICT) uptake continues to grow worldwide, spurred by a steady fall in the price of telephone and broadband Internet services. The new data, released in ITU's flagship annual report Measuring the Information Society 2012, rank the Republic of Korea as the world's most advanced ICT economy, followed by Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Finland. Of the 10 top-ranked countries, eight are from Europe. The two remaining countries both come from the Asia-Pacific region, with the Republic of Korea in first place, and Japan ranked 8th. The top five countries have not changed their rank between 2010 and 2011. The only new entrant in the top ten is the UK, which moved up from 14th place last year to 9th place in 2012. The report also showed that the ICT sector has become a major contributor to economic growth. In 2010, global exports of ICT goods accounted for 12 percent of world merchandise trade, and as much as 20 percent in developing countries. ITU data revealed that global revenues from telecommunication services reached $1.5 trillion in 2010, corresponding to 2.4 percent of the world's gross domestic product (GDP). In the same year, investment (measured by capital expenditure) in telecommunications amounted to more than $241 billion, or an estimated 2 percent of the world's total gross fixed capital formation. The figures highlight the important role developing countries are playing in terms of telecommunication revenues and investments, particularly during the recent economic crisis. Between 2007 and 2010, both telecom revenues and investment continued to grow by 22 percent in developing countries, whereas revenues stagnated in developed countries. Developing countries are also increasingly attractive destinations for foreign direct investment (FDI) in telecommunications. By beginning 2011, nine of the top 20 telecom markets globally in terms of revenues were developing country markets – including Brazil, China, India and Mexico – and developing countries accounted for 35 percent of world telecommunication revenue. At the same time, ITU research and data suggest that developing countries need a relatively higher level of investment in advanced ICT services to fuel growth, mainly because ICT infrastructure levels are still limited. ITU's ICT Development Index (IDI) ranks 155 countries according to their level of ICT access, use and skills, and compares 2010 and 2011 scores. All countries in the IDI top 30 are high-income countries, underlining the strong link between income and ICT progress. There are large differences between developed and developing countries, with IDI values on average twice as high in the developed world compared with developing countries. The report identifies the group of countries with the lowest IDI levels – so-called ‘Least Connected Countries' – and highlights the need for policy makers to pay keen attention to this group. – SG
